On May 28, Microsoft and NetAppĀ® announced the general availability of Azure NetApp Files. On that date, Microsoft released Azure NetApp Files, a powerful enterprise file service built on NetApp technology that delivers a simple Linux (NFS) and Windows (SMB) file service environment in Azure. The fully managed service simplifies deployment and migration of shared file data from basic file shares to high-performance file services for your critical enterprise applications in Azure.
Together, Microsoft and NetApp are continuing to grow the capabilities of Azure NetApp Files with the introduction of NFS v4.1 support, now in preview. Along with the previously supported NFS v3 and SMB protocols, NFS v4.1 now offers enhanced file-locking capabilities that open the door to using Azure NetApp Files for your critical data environments, such as SAP HANA scale-out. Also, for applications with very high file counts, we have doubled the file count from 50 to 100 million files per volume. On special request, we can drive those numbers even higher.
Along with updated capabilities, we continue to grow the regional availability of Azure NetApp Files with new support for the UK South region (London), bringing the overall EMEA coverage to 3 regions and the total regional availability across the globe to 10 (5 in the United States, 3 in EMEA, and 2 in APAC). You will see the new region in the Azure portal and in the Azure pricing details.
Register here for Azure NetApp files. If you are already using the service, contact your Microsoft account team or a NetApp team to get whitelisted for the NFS v4.1 preview.